How long should you keep your records for?

18 Oct 2018

Remember to check the University Records Retention Schedule

Member of staff writing notes next to a laptop

The University has an obligation under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to destroy or anonymise personal data about individuals once there is no primary business purpose or legal reason to retain it. This includes applicants, staff, students and research subjects.

As part of this obligation the University should not hold out of date, unnecessary or excessive information about any individual. Holding excessive data slows down University systems, takes up physical space, wastes valuable staff time and leads to unnecessary storage and administration costs. Information held by the University is also subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and may be liable to public disclosure.

Staff are therefore reminded to consider the retention periods applied to records in the Records Retention Schedule (RRS). These apply to both individuals and wider operational areas.

For help and advice on the RRS please contact the Information Governance Office, particularly if you:

have records which are not included in the schedule;
cannot apply the retention periods for logistical or technical reasons; or
feel that you have records which need to be kept for longer than the retention rules allow.

For more information, visit the Information Governance Office website.